Monique Polak

Our favorite pretend princess, Angelica, aka Jelly, is back! A case of mistaken identity, a wild imagination and a love of storytelling leads Jelly to tell her friend Joon and the new kid she's just met, Leo, that she's a part-time lion trainer at the local animal rescue center. Her inventiveness has them completely convinced, but things get a bit more complicated when the resident lioness, Mwezi, escapes from her enclosure and the kids look to Jelly's...

Jordie's cousin Todd has moved back to Montreal and is attending Jordie's high school. Todd has autism and requires an aide. Todd has not been welcomed in the school. He's known as a freak, and even other parents seem to resent Todd's special needs. Jordie does everything he can to distance himself from his cousin, fearful of what his friends might think. When he learns that Todd's whole family is buckling under the pressure of a hateful letter, Jordie...

Justin is fascinated with the aged guard dog at the corner store. He names it Smokey and sneaks the dog treats. Smokey belongs to a company that supplies working dogs to local businesses. Justin is thrilled to get a job working for Smokey's company, until he learns about the mistreatment of the animals. When Justin can't shake his suspicion that someone in the company is involved in a rash of thefts, he tries to quit. But Justin knows too much, and...

This illustrated nonfiction book for middle-grade readers explores the art and science of memory and what it can tell us about ourselves and the world we live in. Don't forget! Uncover the science of memory and how important it is to our daily lives. We all make memories, and memories make us who we are. Remember This explores the science of memory, how and why we remember what we do and what happens when we start forgetting. From working memory...

Fifteen-year-old Tim loves his job at his dad's pet store, partly because he gets to spend time with his best friend, a black cockatoo named Elmo. But things at work have been tense since the store moved to a larger, more expensive location. To make extra money his father rents out the store's exotic birds for parties and Tim is furious at this exploitation of his friend. When Elmo is stolen from one of the parties, the police are unconcerned about...

Noah Thorpe is spending the school term in George River, in Quebec's Far North, where his dad is an English teacher in the Inuit community. Noah's not too keen about living in the middle of nowhere, but getting away from Montreal has one big advantage: he gets a break from the bully at his old school. But Noah learns that problems have a way of following you-no matter how far you travel. To the Inuit kids, Noah is a qallunaaq-a southerner, someone...

Eric and his buddies have left behind their all boys school to attend high school with girls. Eager to find his place in this exciting new world, Eric joins the student life committee, unaware that he is expected to enforce the school's strict dress code. The dress code is particularly harsh on the girls he is keen to get to know. Eric finds this awkward, but it's nothing compared to the position he finds himself in when the whole school revolts.

Sixteen-year-old Ani lives in the tiny Quebec town of Ste-Anne-de-Beaupre, where her family runs Saintly Souvenirs, a tourist shop catering to the many pilgrims who come to the town seeking a miracle. The bane of Ani's existence is her hyperactive, over-sexed younger sister, Colette. Ani and her mother, Therese, are devout Catholics; Colette and her father are not. When Therese is paralyzed after a freak accident, Aniís faith is tested, but when...

Mandy dreams of a career in the circus, working as an aerialist who specializes in rope climbing. When she is accepted into the prestigious Montreal Circus College summer program, she feels that she is finally on her way to fulfilling her dreams. At circus camp she is befriended-and challenged-by young circus performers from around the world. Circus camp turns out to be a magical combination of work and play, but when a veteran aerialist is killed...

For fifteen-year-old Rosetta Wolff, the war in Europe seems very far off from her home in Canada. Then Mr. Schwartzberg comes to tea and asks Rosetta's parents if they will take in a young war refugee. Isaac joins the family and becomes a ready-made brother to Rosetta and her two sisters. Isaac's arrival brings change. Her best friend's handsome brother doesn't seem as attractive after he reveals himself as anti-Semitic, and Rosetta begins to suspect...